Zheng Dan (simplified: 郑旦, traditional: 鄭旦, pinyin: Zhèng Dàn, jyutping: zeng6 daan3) was a legendary beauty of the State of Yue during the late Spring and Autumn period. She was contemporary with and equal in fame to Xi Shi (西施). Both were selected by King Goujian of Yue (越王勾践) to be sent as beauties to the court of King Fuchai of Wu (夫差) as part of Yue’s strategy to bewitch Fuchai and weaken Wu.
In tradition
In Yue, Zheng Dan and Xi Shi were taught etiquette and trained in singing and dancing. In 473 BCE, when Yue forces captured the Wu capital Gusu and Wu fell, Zheng Dan died in the Wu palace; some accounts say she disappeared.
In Sword of the Yue Maiden
In Jin Yong’s Sword of the Yue Maiden, the novel’s focus on Xi Shi, Fan Li, and the Yue court may reference or evoke the broader tradition in which Zheng Dan appears alongside Xi Shi as one of the famous beauties of the period.
Behind the scenes
The name follows the project’s SYM taxonomy (郑旦 — The Sword of the Yue Maiden terms).
See also
- Xi Shi — The other legendary beauty of Yue
- King Fuchai of Wu — The Wu king to whom beauties were sent
- State of Yue — Zheng Dan’s state
- Sword of the Yue Maiden characters